Translation of Credentialing Examination for Providers with English as a Second Language: An Exploratory Study.

Racial and ethnic minorities disproportionately suffer the burden of adverse health outcomes in the United States. Increasing the diversity of healthcare providers may help decrease disparities in outcomes. Unfortunately, language barriers may affect performance in nursing school and credentialing examinations. The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify current practices and trends affecting the translation of credentialing examinations. Commissioned by the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists, a survey was sent to the credentialing organizations soliciting information about their exam translation practices and considerations. Among the 27 credentialing organizations (two licensure and 25 certification organizations) that completed the survey, 63% were from healthcare. All the organizations offered their credentialing examinations in English. Some offered their examination in Chinese/Mandarin (15%), Spanish (11%), French (7%), and Arabic (7%). The majority (78%) do not translate their examinations into another language. Among the six credentialing organizations translating their examinations, 67% translate one, and 17% translate two examinations. Most use the forward and back-translation techniques. For organizations embarking on a multilingual credentialing program, it is imperative to ensure psychometric equivalence of their examinations. Translation can help ensure that candidates are tested on their intended competencies, not their language proficiency.

Reference Resource Usage Among Nurse Anesthetists: A Survey.

The National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA) references all questions on its examinations. Because examination questions should be clinically applicable, the NBCRNA is interested in knowing what reference resources clinicians rely on in their work, so that questions can be based on those or similar resources. In October 2016, the NBCRNA sent an email blast for a survey on reference usage to a weighted random selection of 14,993 student and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists from its database. The final response rate to the survey was 21.0% (3,155). Important findings included a greater percentage acknowledging usage of web-based references (90.7%, 95% CI = 89.6%-91.8%) than of textbooks (61.4%, 95% CI =59.7%-63.1%) or journals (62.3%, 95% CI = 60.5%-64.1%), as well as more frequent reported usage of web-based resources than textbooks. The survey also queried overall usage of journals, handbooks, and mobile apps, and of specific subcategories and titles. Characteristics of references that respondents reported as very important included easily accessible, portable, and reputable. Most findings indicated that practicing nurse anesthetists prefer webbased resources to printed textbooks or journals. With some exceptions, that preference held true across age groups and job duties.